Learning Curves
by Alley Cat Sunflower
Summary: "I do not intend to marry you, or become a part of the Kazama clan in any way," Sen explained once—but, as usual, Kazama doesn't care. However, he may have bitten off a little more than he can chew by making the headstrong princess of Yase his bride: Sen has a thing or two to teach him… and isn't above taking their wedding night off to work out a lesson plan. I do not own Hakuōki!


_Happy birthday, Viisauden! Having dragged you part of the way down into this hell with me, it's only fitting that your traditional birthday fic fuel that fire.  
_

* * *

 **Day One**

Evidently, I will have nothing more engaging to do this evening than write, because Sen has locked me out of my bedroom.

The wedding was… tense. I expected as much, given the tantrum she threw a few hours beforehand. Honestly, the show she put on might have amused me if she hadn't risked alienating my entire clan in the process. Being called a traitor, a liar, and a thief on my wedding day doesn't bother _me_ in the slightest, but I can't say the same for the few kinsmen who overheard her outburst.

Truth be told, it wasn't as though I had any more of a choice in the matter than Sen did. Really, she should have known better than to think either of our villages would respect her wishes to bear me a child out of wedlock. I, at least, suspected as much even before my advisors suggested a marriage—and honestly, such an option was far from unappealing to me. After all, as beneficial as a child would be to all of demonkind, a political connection between my people and the people of Yase would be still more so.

Sen, however, was… considerably less open to the idea, from the very beginning. As soon as she heard that I had made the proper arrangements to marry her, she'd fought her family and my clan tooth and nail. Amagiri tells me that when he visited on my behalf in an attempt to placate her, Sen refused to listen to anything he had to say. In fact, she actually threatened to run away from home and marry for love like the Yukimura girl. (However, she either failed to mention any suitors by name, or Amagiri omitted them so I couldn't eliminate the competition.)

Obviously, she didn't flee, but she may as well have for all the progress I've made with her. I had thought that a marriage would be convenient in that it would fulfill the requirements of both tradition and necessity, but it seems I've underestimated the strength of her will to resist. I didn't receive so much as a kiss before she coldly told me that we now have all our lives to reproduce, and before I could even muster a retort, she shut the door in my face.

 _My_ door. She shut _my_ door in _my_ face on _my_ wedding night.

Where did I go wrong?

* * *

 **Day Two**

Sen still refuses to come out of my room, even to eat, and thus far has agreed to see only Kimigiku. I'm not uncivilized enough to eavesdrop, and I've learned by now that interrupting ladies in the midst of their chatter is a dangerous idea, but they've been talking so quietly for so long that I've begun to wonder whether they're conspiring to escape.

…No, they would never do such a thing. Sen is a demon, and demons are traditional. Except Shiranui, but he may as well be a human for all the demon pride he has. I'll have to find a more specific example… yes, this is better: it may be more accurate to say that Sen is a _princess_ , and for we demons of noble birth, custom is equivalent to law.

Sen may have a rebellious temperament, but I doubt her resentment will spark outright revolution; she doesn't strike me as particularly dramatic or vengeful in nature. However, given the circumstances, I have little choice but to believe she's trying to cause me as much trouble as possible out of spite that my request took precedence over her own.

Perhaps Sen has forgotten that her initial proposal overturned my original plan just as my offer of marriage subverted hers. The difference is that I adapted and took the initiative to get what I wanted instead of making myself miserable. She can make the most of the opportunities I've given her, or she can stay in my room for as long as it takes for her to accept reality—but sooner or later, she'll have to give herself to me as promised.

* * *

 **Day Three**

Sen finally emerged from my room this morning and joined me for breakfast, but she looked as exhausted as if she hadn't slept at all. I've never spent the night in a more comfortable bed than my own, so whatever has been keeping her awake, it certainly isn't my accommodations. More irritatingly, it also isn't _me_ , but I've resolved not to dwell on that in a perhaps vain effort to preserve my sanity.

After a long and awkward silence, Sen finally had the grace to apologize for her conduct towards me over the last few days. Her voice was earnest, her bow sincere, and in her eyes was truth—but she offered neither excuses nor explanations for her behavior. She only informed me that she wasn't at her best today, and begged me to wait until tomorrow night. (Inasmuch as Sen will ever _beg_ for anything.)

It wasn't too long ago that I would have insisted, but I knew better than to think she would change her mind any more quickly if I forced the issue, so I agreed to her request—even though it left a bitter taste in my mouth. That would be why I'm still using these fingers for writing, but least I might sleep more soundly tonight despite the solitude, because Sen has allowed me back into my bedroom in favor of taking the quarters in which I've been staying lately.

I believe she's afraid of me, or perhaps she's afraid of the situation as a whole. I suppose I can understand why, but the fact remains that I have never been a patient man. I will wait one more day for her to make up her mind, and no longer.

* * *

 **Day Four**

Shortly after I awakened this morning, Kimigiku delivered a note from my wife, informing me that she will be at my door this time tonight. Given that I have begun another entry, it should be obvious that Sen has not yet honored her promise. If she doesn't arrive within the next hour, I will pay her a visit instead, and neither of us want that. Until then, I write, as seems to be usual…

I spent all my hours of wakefulness waiting for the sun to set, idly puzzling over the only thing of note that happened today. After dinner, I discovered Kimigiku coming out of Sen's room carrying a number of unfamiliar scrolls, the nature of which she refused to disclose. Clearly, my wife had something to do with them, or they had something to do with my wife. Did she write them, or was she studying them? What could they be…?

Wait. I think Sen is finally here—

* * *

 **Day Five**

All is well.

The sun is rising; my wife is curled up in my bed; and I don't even think she hates me anymore. I confess I wasn't listening too closely when she was explaining herself, but she said something about teaching me the value of respect and patience, because I'll apparently need them both if I've decided to be her partner in this life instead of merely the father of her child.

I could have argued, of course, but my mouth was otherwise occupied at the time, and my blood had more agreeable places to be than my brain. Even if I had been free to think and to speak, I'm not sure my lips could have formed the words to tell Sen that the boredom and frustration she put me through didn't inspire me to think any better of her. But then, I'd have been lying even if I'd managed to tell her so, and it would have been nothing short of a sin to prove myself worthy of her insults so soon after she took them back.

…At least, I _think_ she took them back; it was difficult to tell, given that my mind seemed to have shut down and surrendered all control to my body. Speaking of which, I'm still not sure exactly what the scrolls contained or what her mysterious conversation with Kimigiku was about, but after all the _other_ things Sen taught me—far more enjoyable than my lessons in patience and respect—I believe I can guess.

Perhaps another man would be angry that his wife would take the lead on their wedding night, especially after delaying it for so long… but I am not another man, and Sen is not another man's wife. She is mine, and I suppose I belong to her as well, whether I like it or not. So you see, our marriage is now as it should be—and for as long as the rest of the pages in this journal remain blank, you will know it remains so.


End file.
